


Runnin' From Freedom

by S0methingCreativ3



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Fluff, Full Shift Werewolves, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shapeshifting, Tags May Change, Werewolves, its just the subgenders, jeongin is unpresented in the first few chapters, lotta violence ig, no smut tho, slight abo ig
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-11-08 23:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17990258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S0methingCreativ3/pseuds/S0methingCreativ3
Summary: In this world, freedom isn't what you think. Jeongin had lived most of his fifteen years of life completely alone. With this, came "freedom." He learned, a few weeks before he was scheduled to present, before he turned sixteen, that freedom isn't what he wants. He wanted a family.Can he find that in the pack that so willingly took him in?





	1. He's a Real Cliffhanger

**Author's Note:**

> Any mistakes are my own and I apologize for them all!

The snarls ripping from his throat are usually enough to deter whoever he was snarling at, but for the four alphas in front of his smaller form, it was more amusing than threatening. Jeongin knew he had an intimidating growl, unpresented as he was he’d learned from a young age how to make himself seem more dangerous than he actually was, but when he got trailed and cornered by these four alphas his tactics didn’t work.

That’s how he found himself here, back paws threatening to slip off the edge of the small cliff. He was in unfamiliar, neutral, territory, and there was a rushing river below him that seemed to be flooding after the melting snow. He knew his side was heavily bleeding, but his priority was to not let these alphas kill him. He could heal a few scratches, but not a torn throat or snapped neck. 

“Give up, pup. You’ve got no choice but to come with us and you know it.” The silver coated alpha growled, stepping even closer.

Jeongin refused to give them the satisfaction of hearing his voice trying to argue with them, he hadn’t said a word throughout this chace. He didn’t plan to start now. So with a sideways glance below him, he knew there was really only one way out of this situation if he didn’t want to be slammed into underaged wolf trafficking. He needed to jump.

The small caramel wolf’s ears angled back in nervousness as he prepared himself to leap a good enough distance off the edge so he wouldn’t hit the rocks, making sure to lean forward and snap his jaws at the unsuspecting alpha’s muzzle. The metallic tang of blood was sadly something he had quickly gotten used to from fighting these guys off, and he took his small opening of time to turn around and push his legs as hard as he could as he jumped off the ledge and into the surging river.

The fall itself wasn’t too scary, Jeongin had always loved taking high leaps off cliffs and into lakes, but usually then it’d been with people he trusted and it was for fun. This was life or death, and he’s never jumped off a cliff this high before, much less in this form.

The impact hurt. Really hurt. He couldn’t breathe for a good ten seconds, couldn’t move, but as soon as he got over the initial shock he kicked furiously at the water so he could resurface. Once he broke the surface, his lungs took in air quickly, and he yelped as his side was slammed into a rock. Jeongin scrambled to try and get his footing on the rock, but it was too small, he only ended up slipping off and letting the current carry him further downstream.

He must have been making quite a ruckus, because he saw a flash of white off to his left in the trees. It resembled a wolf, and right now that was the last thing Jeongin wished to deal with. 

The current got a bit stronger as the river deepened, and before he could try to get out of the way, it dragged him back under the water. He’d let out a yelp in surprise, watching as bubbles from his nose floated up to the surface. He could feel his legs tiring, and he was unsure if he’d be able to bring himself back up to break the surface again. 

Was this it? Was Jeongin really going to die here, barely under sixteen years old? Unable to experience anything worthwhile within his wolf years?

He believed so.

Fortunately, just as Jeongin stopped trying to struggle to swim back to the surface, giving up, he’d felt teeth dig harshly into his scruff and pull upwards. He’d felt a paw push his bottom half down so he was angled enough for the newcomer to drag them both up to the surface with relative ease. 

It didn’t take more than three seconds for them to get above the water, for Jeongin to realize someone was trying to save his life. As soon as air filled his lungs again he wanted to throw up, he knew he’d swallowed some of that water. But he needed to focus on swimming to the shore, allow this stranger to help him.

Jeongin was unable to even get a glimpse of what this stranger looked like, but as they neared the shore his legs went numb from the cold water. He’d stopped fighting the current, shook his head as the wolf behind him growled around the fur in their mouth, prompting the pup to keep fighting the current. He let out a low and choked whine, the adrenaline leaving him as the new wolf got some footing and began dragging the pup out of the water, huffing in exhaustion.

He could feel the wounds on his side still bleeding, his caramel fur once again being coated in the sticky red liquid as he tried to get his feet under him again. Could feel the burning in his chest from the forced entry of the water he’d swallowed and choked on while unable to resurface. He was tired.

“Come on kid, stay with me here-” The white wolf growled, releasing Jeongin’s scruff to bend and attempt to help the smaller wolf up on his feet again, using his shoulder for support.

When Jeongin just couldn’t stand up for too long, couldn’t even take a step forward, the white wolf whined before stepping back and shaking himself free of most of the water dragging their fur down. They threw their head back and let out a howl, probably calling for a pack mate.

A pack… Jeongin had jumped into a pack territory. This could easily be considered more dangerous than being caught by the rogue alphas in neutral territory before he jumped into the river.

He must have blacked out for a minute or something, because the next thing he knew his muzzle was being licked, the white wolf was trying to keep him conscious. There was another wolf, deep brown with some white spots on the legs, inspecting his side. Jeongin’s ears flattened and he tried to let out a growl, but it sounded more like a whine and not at all threatening.

Neither wolf reacted, or said anything, but the brown one did look up for a second before settling down and beginning to lick at the pup’s wounds. He wasn’t going to go anywhere bleeding like he was.

Soon enough, despite the white wolf’s efforts, Jeongin just couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. He’d fallen into blackness before he could do anything else.

~

“-angerous, Felix! . . . drowned yourself trying . . . out!” 

“I wasn’t just going to let him . . . He’s just a pup!”

“You still should’ve waited for someone to get there! . . . river has killed more of us than . . . can remember.”

“Felix saved someone’s life, Chan. The least you could do is help this kid recover and berate him for it later.”

Jeongin felt hazy. His eyelids were heavy, he struggled to open them, but he managed. His surroundings were completely unfamiliar, but he felt a bit safer knowing he was still in his wolf form. He at least had some protection like this, but he was unsure he’d have the strength to even use it.

He noticed the eight people in the large room, they were all scattered about. Two were near the sink, there were three on the couch closest to where Jeongin lay, two were sat at the table, both with laptops and seemed too focused on them to notice the small argument happening on the couch. Then there was the last person, the one the was sitting just in front of him, head turned to look at the three on the couch. Probably the third voice in the small conversation he’d been hearing bits and pieces of. 

The thought of there being this many people in the same room as him freaked him out enough for him to attempt to stand, ears flat as he looked at the others cautiously. As soon as he started moving, all heads turned to look at him at the same time, as if they could sense his fear, his anxiety.

“Everyone, out. Now.” The one that was seated next to him said, turning to shoo the others out of the room before turning back to Jeongin, who was standing on very shaky legs. 

“Please, you should lay back down. I promise none of us are going to hurt you, but you’re too injured to move around too much.” This man’s voice was gentle, calming almost. But Jeongin didn’t buy it.

He bared his teeth a little, turning his body a little too fast and whining as he felt the wounds on his side open again. His attention went to the bandages, wrapped tightly but carefully around his midsection, and went to try and take them off. 

A hand stopped him, and apparently this guy, who Jeongin could now smell was a beta, was fearless. Jeongin could probably still snap this guy’s hand off if he needed to, yet he decided the pup’s bandages were more important than his hand.

“You need to heal. You can’t do that if you’re straining your wounds and not keeping them clean.” The man said, voice a little lower, more close to a soft whisper as he pleaded with his eyes.

Jeongin huffed, but didn’t try to take the bandages off again. He knew this guy was right, he’d already bled so much near the river, he wouldn’t be surprised if it stained the side of the cliff where he’d been standing before jumping.

The man smiled, content that Jeongin seemed to be accepting his words, and listening as the wolf carefully lowered himself to lay back down. 

“It seems like you’re going to be here a while, so I guess you might want to know who we all are. My name’s Woojin.” The man, Woojin, said as he leaned back on his hands.

He waited to hear some reply from the unpresented male, but when he received none it didn’t seem to bother him much. “My pack has this territory, from that cliff to the lake a few miles the other way. There’s eight of us here in total, but I won’t let them all flood the area if you’re uncomfortable being around so many others.”

Slowly, Jeongin seemed to relax a bit in front of Woojin, and the other smiled a little at the sight. “You don’t have to chat with me, or the others for that matter. But we do just wish to help you. Whoever gave you that slash on your middle really took some damage.” He said sadly, motioning to the boy’s side.

Jeongin merely nodded his head, huffing out a breath in reply, eyes darting around the room to map out his surroundings. He wasn’t completely focused on the male in front of him, when he’d heard a loud thud on the door where everyone had exited.

It was silent for a few seconds, then there was another thud, but it sounded harsher than the first, and was followed by a pained yelp. Jeongin’s ears flattened, and he’d tried to get back up on his feet and away from the situation when the window above him shattered. Woojin was quick enough to roll out of the way of the glass, but not fast enough to avoid the silver coated wolf that jumped through after the window had broken. The wolf’s large paw had roughly slammed into Woojin’s shoulder, and it sent the wolf tumbling to the ground because of how unexpected his landing was. Woojin was quick to shift himself at the sight of the unfamiliar wolf, deep brown and white speckled fur appearing quickly before the other snarled and the two clashed.

The door slammed open, two small and unfamiliar wolves racing each other through the door, presumably to check on the two still inside. They took action quick enough, the black wolf with a white underbelly rushing the silver alpha that had gotten Woojin on his back, and suddenly that fight was two on one. The other wolf, a small sandy brown omega, came over to Jenongin to check if he was alright. He got too close though, and Jeongin reached forward to snap his jaws at the other, growling. The omega probably would’ve snapped back if he hadn’t seen the fear in the pup’s eyes. Instead, understanding filled him and he lowered his head before once again trying to get closer. 

“I’m not here to hurt you, pup, just need to get you out of here.” A calming voice said, coming from the omega that was now next to him and helping him get up on his feet.

Jeongin, surprisingly, let him. The sound of snarls and snapping jaws was getting louder with each second, and if he was being offered a chance to escape that alpha again he would take it.

The two were out of the building fast enough, the omega leading him around the building and into the line of trees as quick as Jeongin’s legs could carry him. For the moment, he was choosing to ignore the stinging of his wounds being pulled at, he couldn’t stop until he was safe again. Which didn’t take long, the omega had veered a sudden left and it almost had Jeongin stumbling down a rocky hill. The omega quickly apologized, but led Jeongin into a small cave that was decently hidden by a willow tree. 

Once they got far enough inside, the new wolf had helped Jeongin lay himself back down on a softer area before stepping back and shifting. This man had blonde hair, and chubbier cheeks. He’d said something to Jeongin, something the wolf didn’t catch, before the male disappeared out of the cave for a few minutes, coming back with dried wood and setting them into a small dip in the cave. The area looked like it was made to hold wood, to host a fire, and his thoughts were confirmed when the boy lit up the small cave. 

He was laying in one of eight dips in the ground, which were all filled with soft moss lining. He sniffed at it before looking back up when the boy decided to move again,, coming closer to the wolf hesitantly. 

“May I?” He asked quietly, gesturing to Jeongin’s side, where blood was soaking through the bandages already. Reluctantly, Jeongin nodded, letting his head fall to his side. He was exhausted, and he was almost positive it was because of how much blood he’d lost in the last few hours, and his near death experience in the river.

Jeongin’s ears angled to the cave entrance after hearing a few of the willow’s branches moving, and he tensed up a little before seeing Woojin and that other wolf step inside. Woojin’s muzzle was bleeding, but it wasn’t bad. The other wolf seemed to not have any scratches on him, but his fur was messed up, out of place.

“Ah, Jisung. Thank you for starting the fire, I think the others will be in shortly, we can discuss this when everyone’s here.” Woojin said, laying himself down in the small dip next to Jeongin’s. Neither of the two wolves that just entered bothered to shift back, instead just laid down as Jisung unwrapped the gauze from Jeongin’s side to redress the wound. 

It wasn’t hard, Jeongin only had to stand back up for a short minute before being told to lay back down again. At this point he was a bit too out of it to really argue with any of these people. 

He closed his eyes as a couple more of the pack slipped inside, and let the sound of the crackling fire lull him back to unconsciousness.


	2. I Can Scent you Sneaking Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just some Jeonglix for you ig  
> idk how long it'll be for the tagged ships to surface, but it'll be a couple chapters yet, we have some things to get through first ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry for the terrible pun in the chapter name :( im disappointed in myself smh

It took about a week, but Jeongin was able to get up and walk around like the others. He was still adamant on not speaking to anyone, or shifting back to his human form, but the later was mainly for healing purposes. The process of healing as a human is way slower than it was as a wolf. Besides, it was cold in this cave nearly all the time, hardly anyone stayed in their human forms during the last week. 

Throughout the week Jeongin had learned the others names. He had to say, he liked Seungmin’s quiet company the most, but he didn’t mind Woojin’s either. Maybe it was because he’d been the one to initially talk to him, or maybe the elder just had that effect on everyone, he didn’t know.

Jeongin had gotten the bandages taken off earlier that morning, and he was currently outside with Felix, the white wolf who’d saved his life, laying down on the grass as they ate their share of Changbin and Chan’s kill. It took a day for Jeongin to bother trying to eat anything, he really only did because Woojin had pleaded with him. Since that day though, Jeongin was easier to approach.

One thing that wasn’t spoken about during this past week was the four alphas who trespassed and set fire to the pack’s house. He still remembers how Minho had come back with hardly any fur on his tail because it’d caught one of the flames on the door that had fallen off the hinges. It was slowly growing back now though, but it’d take a good while for it to be back to normal. 

The others never confirmed or denied if the four alphas were killed or not, but Jeongin never bothered to speak up to ask. He was unsure why he kept choosing to stay quiet, but maybe it’s just his way of protecting himself. Maybe he was always just a quiet kid. But he wouldn’t know, he never grew up around anyone his own age.

Jeongin must have zoned out, because it surprised him when Felix had leaned over to nudge his muzzle into the pup’s ear, huffing playfully. “You weren’t listening to me, were you pup?” He asked, tilting his head.

Jeongin pulled his ears back and lowered his head in embarrassment, confirming Felix’s suspicions. The older just laughed to himself and settled back down, digging back into the deer’s leg he had in front of himself. “Said we gotta go back soon. Chan hyung found enough moss to make another dip in the cave for Seungminnie, so he doesn’t have to squish to share with anyone else. He wants to send a few of us out to check the boarders too, others to hunt for a while.” He explained, eyes looking up and locking with the pup’s.

Jeongin nodded, licking his muzzle clean of the meat he knew he’d been a little messy with. His meal wasn’t as big as Felix’s portion, it never was, that boy was like a black hole, so Jeongin usually finished first. He stood easily, letting himself yawn and stretch out before shaking off his fur, freeing the dirt from his pretty caramel colored coat.

Felix whined and complained that Jeongin hadn’t let him finish, but the younger merely wagged his tail and nipped the others ear playfully, initiating a short lived chase. Jeongin has been able to run for about two days now, but he had to stop if he felt his wounds pulling too bad. Running from Felix, who was carrying his deer leg with him as he chased after the younger, was easy enough. He beat the larger wolf back to the cave and happily entered, making his way over to Chan and sliding behind the larger silver gray colored wolf. 

Chan looked at him with interest, happy to see the temporary new addition to their small family happy for the first time since he’d arrived, then bent to lick the other’s muzzle affectionately. “Welcome back, pup.” 

They had all taken to calling him pup, and Jeongin kinda liked the nickname, when it wasn’t being used in a threatening way. Made him feel young again, even though some of this pack was very close to his own age. They just figured it’d be easier to use the nickname than to push the young wolf to speak when he wasn’t comfortable, which Jeongin was thankful for. 

Jeongin gave a small huffed yip, trying to get away from the affection the alpha was trying to give, which only resulted in laughs from around the cave. Hearing the pack this relaxed had Jeongin relaxing easily as well when Felix ducked into the cave after him. 

“Alright guys, we haven’t gone too far from the cave since last week. We need to refresh the boarders or the other packs are going to try to push their land in. Minho, Jisung, I’d like you two to try some hunting, bring back whatever you can get ahold of. The deer is getting too old to eat.” Chan started, nudging Jeongin to move to go lay down, and the younger complied easily.

“Changbin and Woojin, I’d like you two to check the far southern border. You’re the fastest, you’ll be able to get there easily. Felix and Seungmin, the east please. Hyunjin, the river, and I’ll take the pup with me to check the western side. Be back before nightfall to report anything.” 

Everyone nodded, getting up out of their beds and stretching before pairing up and heading out. Jeongin just stayed where he was laid down, watching as everyone left before looking up at the alpha and tilting his head.

Chan was watching the others go as well, head dropping once they were out of sight. “We should go fast, then maybe we can make it back before all of them. C’mon pup.” He said, stepping close and nosing at Jeongin’s neck to prompt the smaller wolf to get up and head out. 

Chan set the pace to a steady jog, weaving through threes and jumping over small streams and dead rotting trees that had fallen ages ago. It was a calming trip, for the most part, and it was easy to tell when they’d reached the border. Chan halted them at the edge of the treeline, head high as he scanned the area past it, almost as if searching for something. Jeongin took it upon himself to start sniffing where the border line was, following it down the treeline a bit until he was at the top of a cliff once again. He looked down, it was nowhere near as bad of a drop as the other side was, but still made him nervous enough to back away from the edge with a low whine. He didn’t even hear Chan come up behind him, but the elder had pressed himself comfortingly against the pup’s side and lead him away from the edge. 

“Stay here for a minute okay? I need to re-scent the trees by the drop off.” Chan said before heading back over to the edge.

Jeongin huffed, but did as he was told, turning to look out past the trees and into the field ahead of him. It seemed like it went on for miles, even though Jeongin knew it didn’t. There’s probably some really tasty rabbits out in the tall grass, and oh, Jeongin hasn’t had rabbit in forever…

Soon enough, Chan had come back and had guided Jeongin along the trees as the alpha scented them as he passed. It was a simple process of circling the tree while his neck was pressed against the bark. Just enough to get a fresh scent on them, enough to let others know there was a strong alpha here that can and will tear you apart if you crossed the line.

It took only twenty minutes for Chan to scent the entire west side of his pack’s border, and he suggested heading back to the cave to rest up in the silence before the others came back too.

The run home was a bit longer this time, as they were farther out than they were earlier. Jeongin didn’t mind, it gave him some time to think.

He was healed enough to leave now, as much as Woojin denies he isn’t. It’d be too easy to reopen his wounds if he ran into another wolf, or stumbled into an unfriendly pack. Jeongin was actually planning on leaving tonight, knowing the other wolves wanted it to be an early night anyway just gave him the opportunity to do so. He just had to figure out how to sneak past Woojin’s sleeping place, and past Felix, who had guard duty at the cave entrance for the night.

Figuring he could deal with it when the time comes, Jeongin slipped into the cave behind Chan with practiced ease, only half surprised to see Hyunjin was back as well. They greeted each other with small bows of their heads before the three of them settled into their makeshift nests for the night. Chan and Hyunjin were out easily enough, which left Jeongin alone to wait for the others to get back.

~

Night came fast enough. When the others arrived they were all a bit tired from their long walks, and no one bothered to chat more than waking Chan to tell him the borders were clear and saying goodnight before laying down to sleep. Minho and Jisung came back last, the later carrying a few squirrels and a badger, while Minho was dragging a relatively small, but still decently sized, doe. The pack should be fed pretty well for a while.

Jeongin had eyed the badger with curiosity, having never tried one before, and Jisung told him he could have it in the morning if he liked. Jeongin only nodded, knowing he wouldn’t be here by morning but not wanting to worry the other about it.

It didn’t take long for everyone to fall asleep, but just in case Jeongin waited a good two hours before quietly moving out of his moss-lined bed. He made sure his pawsteps were quiet, ears swiveling this way and that to make sure he didn’t wake anyone up as he crept towards the entrance of the cave.

He was expecting Felix to be there, but as he looked around the white wolf was nowhere to be seen. 

Weird… Chan was always kind of strict when it came to protecting the cave at night, especially after those alphas followed Jeongin into their territory. Maybe he was overthinking it and the white wolf was just off using the bathroom.. Yeah, that sounded reasonable enough.

Jeongin didn’t hesitate to slip out of the cave and into the trees, keeping his ears perked in case Felix was around. The young wolf took to the west again, remembering the route he’d taken with Chan for the border patrol just a few hours ago.

He wasn’t expecting to be followed.

~

Jeongin reached the treeline easily enough, though it took a little longer this time around because he’d been walking instead of jogging. He hesitated to step out of the tree lin, turning his head for a moment to glance back at the territory he’d called home for a good week. 

Steeling himself, Jeongin reasoned that he’d brought enough trouble to the pack, he really had no reason to continue to do so. Besides, he wasn’t offered a place in the pack for when he healed, he would have to leave at some point, and he’d rather it be sooner than later.

Just as Jeongin stepped forward, he heard a voice, “You don’t have to leave you know.”

The young wolf turned and watched as Felix’s slim, white form stepped into his view. Even in the middle of the night, the older’s fur was beautiful.

“You’re still healing, pup. And it’s dangerous out there, which I’m sure you know first hand.” Felix tried to reason, stepping up next to the younger and pressing into his side, nuzzling his nose into the kid’s neck.

“Besides, I’ll be sad if you leave now, and so will the others. No one’s said it, but we’ve grown very fond of you over this past week…” At this, Jeongin whined guiltily, lowering his head and flattening his ears. 

“I can’t stay longer, Felix..” Jeongin said, quietly. His resolve to not speak in front of the pack broken, if this was the last time they’d see him what was the point in keeping it up?

“You can, pup. Channie was going to offer you a place in the pack, he’d discussed it with everyone. But he wanted to wait until you were healthy again.” Felix said after a moment of silence, probably shocked Jeongin had spoken up.

The white wolf noticed the silence, leaning up to huff a breath at Jeongin’s golden ears, earning an indignant yip and a playful bite to his own ears in the process. 

“Still.. I’ve brought your pack enough trouble. I need to go.” Jeongin said, tone set firmly as he moved to walk forward again.

“Pup, please-” Felix started, following Jeongin out of the trees and into the tall grass, over the border. 

“Felix, really.. Just go back, act like you didn’t see me leave. It’s better that way.” Jeongin said, pleading with the other as he continued walking, paw steps careful as he got used to the new terrain.

“No, I can’t just leave you out here alone, much less while you’re still healing. Plus, now that you’re willing to talk a bit, I still don’t know your name.” The older whined, leaping a little ahead of the younger before stopping and looking back at him expectantly.

Jeongin curled his lip in slight annoyance, but he let it drop when he saw Felix’s puppy eyes. He sighed, averting his eyes, “If I tell you my name, will you go back?” He asked, coming to a stop in front of the other male.

Felix seemed to perk up, “You know I won’t, but you should tell me anyway!” He said, adding an excited yip as he bounced on his paws to make a point.

The younger wolf rolled his eyes but nodded, continuing to walk into the tall grass, “My name’s Jeongin.”

Felix’s tail was smacking the tall grass as he excitedly wagged it behind him, leaping up to catch up to Jeongin again, leaning forward to lick affectionately at the younger's muzzle, “I love it. It suits you, Jeonginnie.” 

It was strange to hear his voice come from someone that wasn’t himself, seeing as he’s only ever told one person his name, and that ended badly. He had his reasons for being quiet about it, but Felix didn’t need to know them. Not right now at least.

Thinking back on it, Jeongin really shouldn’t have told Felix his name out in the open like he did. But that was a mistake they would both soon pay for.


	3. The Hunters Piss off the Alphas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not going to lie, this is mostly being posted to help hold everyone over until i can jump off my lazy ass and get back into this again. This is basically the first half of what I had planned for chapter three, so I'm sorry it's complete shit but I know if I dont post something soon I'll end up forgetting abt this

“You really shouldn’t have come with me you know. We’re way too far away from the others-” Jeongin started, now human for the first time in over a week. It felt good to be able to stretch his limbs out while Felix was working on getting a fire started.

“They know I’m alive. Pack bonds keep us mentally connected. Chan might be a little mad that I left without saying something, but he’s not as mad as he could be, considering I left to keep you safe.” Felix replied, shrugging his shoulders as the fire finally sparked to life. 

Both boys decided a few hours in human form would be good for them, knowing how sick they could get if they stayed as wolves for too long. Their system functions were weird and very complex, all wolves’ were. It sucked.

“It’s my fault he’s mad at all, that’s not what I wanted. I don’t plan on going back either, so it’s really just best for you if you went back now. I don’t want you losing all of them just because I didn’t stay.” Jeongin said, averting his eyes as he frowned.

“Then come back  _ with _ me. Stay with us, heal up, and accept the offer Chan will give you to be a part of the pack.” Felix said, voice soft. Jeongin didn’t know how he didn’t notice it before, but Felix’s voice held an unfamiliar accent when he was tired.

The younger sighed, bringing his knees up to his chest, carefully, and hiding his face. He felt it when Felix came to sit next to him, felt when the older hesitantly wrapped an arm around his shoulders and tugged him into a hug.

“We can go at first light. Which way we go is up to you.” the elder said comfortingly. The topic wasn’t brought up again.

~

They hadn’t meant to fall asleep like that, but neither could be bothered to move. It was unsafe falling asleep out in the open as a human like they did, but they fell asleep before even thinking about that.

Usually, Jeongin was a heavy sleeper, but his senses were always on alert. Which is why he was confused when he’d woken up, and it was still dark outside. Realizing that something was off, there was a reason he’d woken up, Jeongin sat up a little and looked around, listening carefully to every little noise around them.

What caught his attention was the sound of footsteps in the grass to their right. Jeongin quickly reached up to try and shake Felix awake as quietly as possible.

The older wasn’t even awake before someone came barreling through the grass, trapping the two under their heavy weight. It was then that panic settled in Jeongin’s chest, he knew what these people were-

Felix was awake in record time, startled by the sudden weight, trying to overpower the guy and get him off of them. The younger heard a noise off to the left, head snapping to watch as three more armed men came into the small clearing, one taking aim with his gun and the other two stuffing out the fire.

Before Jeongin could attempt to warn Felix about the men to the left, there was a sharp pinch in his neck, and the effect was immediate. He was out like a light within seconds.

-the hunters had found him.

~

Jeongin was woken up to a bucket of freezing water being thrown in his face. It shocked him enough that he didn’t realize he’d inhaled a little bit of the liquid until his lungs had him trying to cough it back up, harshly burning his throat as he tried to get ahold of himself. The first thing he noticed was how his wrists and ankles were shackled into the wall, only giving him about a foot of loose chain to move around with.

“Good, you’re awake. Now we can start.” A rough voice said from somewhere in front of him. Jeongin tried to focus, but whatever was in the dart that he took to the neck was still in his system. 

It cleared enough that he could make out the man’s figure, and Felix across from him on the opposite wall, chained a bit more heavily. He seemed pissed off.

Jeongin didn’t have time to observe anymore before there was a harsh kick to his abdomen, eliciting a yelp from him as he tried to hunch over and protect the weak area.

“I’ll ask you again, blondie. Where is the rest of your pack?” The man growled, eyes on Felix as he reached to grab a fistfull of Jeongin’s hair before yanking his head back, knocking into the wall. Jeongin couldn’t do more than whimper, still loopy and not fully in control of his actions, but the pain was definitely registering.

Felix’s angry growl sounded in the small room, echoing the slightest bit but he still refused to speak up.

The man sighed, releasing Jeongin’s hair and forcing his head back down before standing up and heading over to where Felix was chained. “I’ll cut you a deal..” He started, lowering his voice as he leaned closer to the older. Jeongin couldn’t make out what the man was saying anymore, the pain in his scalp and numbness of his limbs being distracting enough that he couldn’t focus for too long.

When the man chuckled and pulled away from where Felix was chained, the elder had visibly paled, eyes locked on Jeongin’s drowsy form. 

“Going to talk now?” The hunter hummed, smiling as he approached Jeongin again. “He’s helpless right now. He’ll be able to feel, see, experience the whole thing. But he won’t be able to fight against it. And you in those silver shackles-”

Felix growled, low and angry as his eyes flashed gold. The hunter was agitating Felix’s alpha, threatening Jeongin while the boy and himself couldn’t fight it if it happened. The hunter only smiled, reaching down and grabbing the collar of Jeongin’s dirty shirt, using both hands to begin tearing the fabric in half down the chest. He only got about half way before Felix caved.

“Fine! Fine, fuck, I’ll… Please just, don’t touch him.” Felix growled out, eyes wide and bright gold in both agitation and fear. If he wasn’t shackled in silver he’d have shifted by now just to tear the man’s throat out for even going near the young wolf.

“Good boy..” The hunter hummred, dropping the ends of Jeongin’s torn shirt and facing Felix again. Jeongin couldn’t find strength to react to what had just happened, and he briefly wondered what they put into his system to have him this unresponsive. He lost track of the conversation after this, managing to look at his exposed chest before his eyes drooped closed, whatever drug was in his system taking him back into unconsciousness.

~

To say Chan was worried was the biggest understatement of his life. Having the second youngest packmate disappear during the night, only to find he’d followed an injured pup they’d been sheltering for just over a week. He was calm for a few hours, if still a bit mad that he’d up and left like he did, but as soon as he felt the open link to Felix sever, the panic set in.

“Minho… can you still feel Felix’s bond?” Chan whispered, lifting his head from where it was resting on his knees to look up at the younger, worry evident in his eyes.

Minho was quiet for a moment, most likely in his own head to rummage around feeling for the link that connected him to Felix. “It’s there but.. He’s blocking it. Did he say something to you?” He asked.   
Chan shook his head, but let out a relieved sigh. Minho was the only one in the pack that felt the bonding connections so strongly, so at least Felix wasn’t dead.   
“Last I heard from him, he was going to sleep. There was like, one second of panic before it was quiet and calm again, and then I just couldn’t feel him. Like he’d…” Chan explained, trailing off to a whisper as he furrowed his eyebrows.   
“I’ll keep tabs on the link, hyung. If I feel it wavering I’ll let you know.” Minho said softly, a hand reaching to set itself on Chan’s shoulder, receiving a nod in reply.

It was quiet for the next few minutes, the sounds of the river and other wildlife around the area filling Chan’s ears. After his talk with Minho, Woojin and Changbin came out to take up watch duty, barely hearing the leaders mumble that he was heading to get some alone time before the wolf disappeared.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback?? Is this smth y'all would read?


End file.
